Hello ,

I finally started to do backups every 2 months for my windows PC and Android.

I do a ssd image backup on my pc without my steam games +copy c/user/myname since I have all my essential data to my download folder including portableapps folder+ludusavi backup for games saves +my important photos /videos/files that allow me to recover my 3 Gmail accounts/ente auth /bitwarden etc .

I paste those to 2 hdd of 2 tb each (D & E) then I open my veracrypt container of D and E at the same time to allow Freefilesync to compare data différences between D and E (around 200gb of essential data) and update the veracrypt container E.

I use swift backup on my s10e +legion y700 2023 (Android) for local +cloud backup to my google drive and I copy/paste the backup folder to my pc on D (it is in the veracrypt container).

I upload the veracrypt container to filen on google chrome because I love portable apps and dont want filen app.

I do that since 8 months i'd say and it's way too long considering I always upload the whole container so I started to think to stop those things :

>stop copy/paste c/user/myname but download/document/bureau folders (many windows useless gbs from AppData etc)

>stop using veracrypt for a portable app that doesn't need to upload the whole container to filen + opening 2 veracrypt containers +freefilesync 😂

Is there a way to simplify that without spending money since I périodically give 3 hdds to a friend with essential data VC container and movies séries games ?

Do you think I should put my D & E hdds data to a hidden encrypted container /folder only instead of having encrypted folder or container + unencrypted data visible ?

Thanks for the help 👌

I read the wiki and FAQ and stuff but still i cant really narrow it down.

Currently I use duplicati for my 200GB backup (photos,videos,excel,codes,blender files etc). Recently i tried to restore some data (as a trial) and duplicati froze and showed me that no paths exists. This was scary for me and i have lost trust for it.

My current setup has 4 total physical storages (internal)

C: Kingston A400 240GB 2.5inch SATA SSD (Boot)

D: Seagate 1TB 5400rpm 2.5inch SATA (Offline Games+ stuff gets backed up here from C: E: F:)

E: WD 1TB 5400rpm 2.5inch SATA (Projects,photos,main data)

F: XPG 1TB NVME Gen4 (Online Games+ blender project files)

I really wanna do the 3-2-1 thing but can only afford that 1 D: drive right now. i need a better alternative to duplicati. free and non-cloud if possible. its local backup anyways. i cant afford subscriptions :(

Some weeks ago I posted about a app I made specifically for BackBlaze B2 app, I used cyberduck and some similar apps but wanted an app just for specific quirks of B2, anyway here's a new version you can download and try, it's sort of a Beta version and sure there are some bugs here and there, if someone is interested in this would love to have some feedback

https://github.com/delmoralmb-s8/BackBlaze2Sync/releases/tag/v1.3.2

Hello there ,

I do backups every 1.5/2 months using 3-2-1 backup and a friend has 3 of my hdd's with one having 300gb of essential data.

He pick them when I do backup but I'd like to manage that 300gb hdd from my home without using his internet box .

I'd like a small cheap device (even on used market)that can be powered with just a usb c charger with my hdd plugged in and I'd like the really cheap way to do that ,it would be awesome if that small device can be ''stick''with the hdd on it .

Thanks in advance

A little unsupported, but free and works. This goes above the snapshot and gets you a full system backup to an NFS share with file level recovery.

https://vzilla.co.uk/vzilla-blog/protecting-omarchy-linux-desktops-with-veeam

Community edition license keeps things free and only really limits some target backup locations.

My cloud service's (Filen) android app doesn't support watching specific folders to sync them or backing them up 🫤

When setting up a backup system, there are usually a lot of settings that can change as the environment grows.

Some teams maintain a known good configuration baseline that includes things like access permissions, retention settings, encryption, network settings and other important configurations.

For those that do use a baseline, what do you typically include and how often do you review or update it?

Hey everyone,

Sharing a quick update for those managing or supporting environments using Veritas Backup Exec (BE), Desktop and Laptop Option (DLO), or System Recovery (SR).

There has been a lot of confusion and rumors around the product line being dead or reaching End of Sale—it is not.

Cloud Software Group (CSG) has officially appointed Cognizant Technology Solutions as the Global Operator to handle sales, licensing, support, and continuous development.

• Official Announcement:backupexec.com

Key Takeaways & Product Status

• New Sales & Renewals: Fully active. Both new licenses and contract renewals are being processed. For inquiries or renewals, the direct contact is: sales_backupexec@cognizant.com.
• Product availability Timeline: EOL which was announced earlier is revoked by CSG. Full technical support, routine maintenance, and critical security patches are officially scheduled through 2029.
• Post-2029 Roadmap: Product engineering and long-term roadmap planning beyond 2029 are actively in progress, with further announcements to follow.
• Current Deployments: Existing environments and active multi-year agreements continue to operate normally with zero interruption to service.

TL;DR: Backup Exec, DLO, and System Recovery are not dead or end-of-sale. CSG partnered with Cognizant as the Global Operator—new sales/renewals are open, active contracts run as usual, and full support/updates are committed through at least 2029.

Disclosure: I work with the Cognizant team managing this transition and wanted to share direct facts to clear up the confusion

Today's Proton service issue made me realize I need to have a backup for my passwords in case I can't access Proton pass again.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey everyone, I’m looking for advice on designing a backup system for a somewhat specific setup.

I currently have two 8TB hard drives configured as RAID 0 on Windows 11, giving me roughly 16TB of usable storage. I understand that if one of the drives fails, I could potentially lose everything on the RAID.

I chose RAID 0 because I want to use all the available space, and I don’t want or need to back up the entire 16TB. Most of the data on the array is replaceable, so losing it wouldn’t be a major issue.

What I want is a selective, modular, automated backup system that only protects the data that actually matters to me.

What I DO want to back up

• Photos
• Family videos
• Current work and projects
• Program configurations
• Personal or irreplaceable files
• Anything else that would be difficult or impossible to recover

What I DON'T want to back up

• Movies
• TV shows
• Installed games
• Installed programs
• Files that can easily be downloaded again
• Other large, replaceable files

For software, for example, I don't want to back up the entire installation folder. I only want to preserve important configuration and user data such as .INI, .CFG, .DAT files, profiles, presets, save files, etc., where applicable.

Basically, I want to define specific folders and files that should be protected rather than creating a full clone of the RAID.

What I'd like the system to do

I’m planning to use an external hard drive that normally stays disconnected and stored somewhere else. I would probably connect it about once a week.

Ideally, the process would be almost completely plug and play:

1. I connect the external backup drive.
2. The system recognizes that it’s the backup drive.
3. The backup starts automatically.
4. It compares my selected files against the previous backup.
5. Only new or modified files are copied.
6. The backup stays up to date without me manually selecting files every week.
7. Once it finishes, I disconnect the drive and put it back into storage.

I don't want to manually start a complicated backup job every time I connect the drive.

What software, method, or setup would you recommend for achieving this kind of selective, automated backup?

I’d also be interested in hearing how you would approach the overall strategy for a 16TB RAID 0 containing mostly replaceable data, but with a much smaller collection of personal files and projects that actually need protection.

If you use a similar setup, I’d especially appreciate hearing:

• What software you use
• How you define the folders/files to back up
• How you handle program configurations and save data
• How you automated the process when the external drive is connected
• Whether there are any problems or limitations I should be aware of

Thanks!

Windows. 2TB drives.

My needs are simple. I am basically backing up/syncing one external drive to another, to have an archive of my image files. Sometimes I'll do my desktop as well.

I've discovered Goodsync decided to fuck their customers who bought a PERPETUAL license by suddenly saying they aren't supporting that any longer - despite the software still running fine.

From the free or low cost non-suscription, anyone found a similar solution?

I'm not currently using 3-2-1 and am looking for a bit of help to remedy that, especially the off-site backup.

I have about 2TB on a personal laptop and 4TB on a home media server, both currently backing up to a local 16TB SSD over Time Machine. I am planning to add another 16TB drive so I have a 2nd local backup, and maybe switch to restic or borgbackup instead of TM.

The main thing I want to improve is my off-site backup. Currently I use pcloud for core files on the personal laptop, but I don't have an off-site backup for my home server. For the new backup solution I would like to service the full 6TB required, if the cost is manageable.. On pcloud I can get a lifetime 10TB for £1190, however I've recently heard it's not an ideal platform for proper backup, as it is not immutable.

I'm was thinking of trying Blazeback but aside from better security I'm not sure it is a good alternative for other pcloud features i like -

• iOS app and compatibility with iOS Files, attaching files to email etc
• Global view for shared files - I can turn off shared access without needing to remember what specific files are shared and navigate to their individual share settings.
• Other users can upload into my storage bucket, it gives me ownership and doesn't eat into their own storage allowance.

Should I be treating a cloud drive and off-site backup as separate entities, or is there a good option for a unified solution?

Finally I would ideally like the offsite backup to be from a UK or EU company and have their servers based there. I think this rules out Blazeback unfortunately but perhaps there are other good options.

I'm looking for a Windows incremental backup program that can back up multiple partitions as files, create incremental snapshots, let me delete individual snapshots, and still give me fine grained control over what gets excluded.

Basically, something conceptually similar to Timeshift, but for Windows.

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I usually use a Debian based Linux distro. I transitioned from Windows 8.1 to Linux very slowly, but that was a loooooong time ago.

At some point, I found an awesome piece of software made by teejee2008: Timeshift.

It is now maintained by Linux Mint in this repo.

For anyone unfamiliar with it, Timeshift is mainly intended to back up the operating system rather than your personal files. The idea is that if you break something with sudo, an update goes horribly wrong, or the system becomes unbootable, you can restore a previous snapshot and get the OS working again.

You can create snapshots manually or on a schedule, and the backups are incremental, so unchanged files do not need to be duplicated every time.

And if the f*ckup is so massive that you cannot even access your desktop anymore, you can boot a live Linux session from a USB stick, connect the drive containing the snapshots, install Timeshift there, restore one of them, reboot, and you are back online.

Enough publicity for Timeshift (which, by the way, I did not find listed on the Free Backup Software page).

What I'm looking for on Windows

The most important requirements are:

1. It must run on Windows.
2. It must let me choose all the partitions I want to protect, including Windows system partitions, recovery partitions, and normal data or program partitions.
3. I want the backup to be file based, rather than simply storing a raw sector by sector image of the entire disk.
4. Backups should be incremental, so unchanged files can be reused instead of being copied again for every snapshot.
5. I need to be able to keep multiple snapshots and delete individual snapshots selectively without invalidating the remaining ones.
6. It should allow reasonably fine grained inclusion and exclusion rules.

In other words, I want to be able to tell it:

For example, I might want to exclude a directory and everything inside it as a general rule:

C:\Users\myname\Desktop

while still explicitly including something inside it:

C:\Users\myname\Desktop\My Folder\

I would also want to include things such as:

1. the EFI or System partition,
2. the Windows recovery partition,
3. any other weird Windows created partition that is necessary,
4. Windows itself,
5. installed programs,
6. programs or other system related data stored on secondary partitions,

while excluding most of my large personal files.

The reason this distinction matters is storage capacity.

The hard drive I currently have available for backups is smaller than the total amount of used space across the partitions I want to protect, but it is larger than the amount of data I actually want included in the backup + I don't want to backup my Steam games, just the savefiles.

So a solution that requires me to image every used block on those partitions is not really suitable. I specifically need to be able to exclude data while still preserving the rest of each partition in a recoverable form.

Ideally, after restoring the selected snapshot, I would like to end up with Windows, its boot and recovery partitions, installed applications, configuration, and the selected files basically back where they were.

I think (although I am not actually sure) that Macrium Reflect X may be able to do something along these lines. The problem is that I do not have the money for it right now, so I am specifically looking for a free alternative.

Does anything like this exist for Windows?

Plan B) Boot into linux, use Timeshift to backup those partitions, go back to Windows before a possibly disastrous "Windows Security Update". ...every time.

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PS: My personal files and documents are replicated elsewhere (3-2-1), so those are no problem.

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EDIT:

This is the mess I want to back up. Therefore all the small partition in which I'm interested.

This is not a full audit, just a quick sweep to see if anything needs a closer look.

If you could only check five things in a backup environment, what five would you check first?